Help! My JPMM has gone crazy!

[Dr. Metal]

Seriously...

I have had my JPMM6 since Sept. 2002 and I originally had problems with string breakage. I seem to have broken it in and that finally stopped about a year ago. Even with the string breakage issue, I still have loved this guitar. Last October, I cleaned the fretboard and neck using the recommended methods outlined in the FAQ. What an amazing difference!

HOWEVER, just about two weeks ago, I noticed that I had some fret buzz. It wasn't too bad and I figured I just needed to adjust the truss rod, but I didn't touch it yet. Two nights later, it seemed much worse, so I broke down and adjusted it to raise the action. In the past, I've been able to tell when I adjusted the truss rod, this time it doesn't appear to making a difference. The fret buzz has actually gotten worse. The buzz is most prevalent around the 3-6 frets.

I have only tried making small adjustments to the truss so far, as I have never adjusted the bridge height. Is this normal? Should I be adjusting the bridge or did something go wrong and I need to get it repaired? The guitar has been taken care of and not subjected to extreme temperatures or falls.

This really sucks because we are in the middle of recording our next CD and I want to use this guitar. I'm afraid of how long a repair might take.

Any ideas?

 

[Colin]

sounds like you need a setup, do you have a local repairer that you can take it to? It's akin to owning a car and getting a minor service

 

[augustyn]

sorry, cannot help with your neck issues but its interesting to hear the same story bout string breackage as i had w/JP. it disappeared.

i also wouldt recommend a local guitar tech. MMs are very servicefriendly so it shouldnt last too long to set it up.

 

[GWDavis28]

Have you tried adjusting the saddle height?

Glenn |B)

 

[MusicManJP6]

Just a thought, but maybe you turned the truss rod the wrong way. You said it has gotten worse since you adjusted the truss...

 

[candid_x]

Just a thought, but maybe you turned the truss rod the wrong way. You said it has gotten worse since you adjusted the truss...

This was my first thought too. It's happened to me before, even though I know which way does what.. sometimes I get a case of dumb.

It takes at least a 1/4 turn to notice a real difference, and sometimes a half turn. I'd make sure you're turning the wheel counter-clockwise to raise the action.

If you had your strings off for any length of time, it will take the guitar some time after re-stringing, before it stabilizes.

If the saddles were fine before, I doubt they need to be reset now.

 

[greeny]

why don't you measure the amount of neck relief so you have some indication of whether moving the truss rod has had an effect.

To do this.

1. - Put guitar on your knee in normal playiong position. Put capo on 1st fret.
2 - Fret the E string arount the 16/17th fret (where the neck attaches to the body)
3 - Measure the gap between the top of the 7th or 8th fret (wherever the gap is biggest) and the E string with a set of feeler guages.

The gap should be about 0.01 Inches (10 /1000 inch). If it's a lot less than this then that's probably your problem. If it's around this figure or more then you probably have a different issue (if you are a very aggressive player you may need slightly more that 0.01 inches.)

I'm assuming you haven't changed string guages or anything?

 

[THE_EB_KID]

Bring it to a Tech. A good set up might be all you need..

 

[beej]

Sounds like it's not a major issue, but clearly time is of the essence for you.

I'd call MM customer service today and ask them to help you diagnose the problem over the phone. Then you can decide if you need to send it in for some work. FYI, the turn around on work is often pretty quick - but they can walk you through everything on the phone.

Good luck!

 

[Dr. Metal]

sounds like you need a setup, do you have a local repairer that you can take it to? It's akin to owning a car and getting a minor service

I thought so too, but just wanted to make sure that it wasn't something seriosuly wrong and neede to go back to EB!

sorry, cannot help with your neck issues but its interesting to hear the same story bout string breackage as i had w/JP. it disappeared.

i also wouldt recommend a local guitar tech. MMs are very servicefriendly so it shouldnt last too long to set it up.

Yeah, I think it has been a common issue. Glad to see that yours resolved itself too. Must have been an imperceptable burr on the saddle.

Have you tried adjusting the saddle height?

Glenn |B)

No, I haven't. I was trying to avoid any major adjustments since nothing major led up to this. Plus, the FAQ seems to recommend using the truss for action adjustments which have always been successful in the past. The only time I've adjusted saddle height is after I noticed that one side was lower than the other on the D string (came like that). After adjusting the saddle to make it even, I stared breaking that string like crazy for a while. The worst part is that the A string breakage had just settled down.

Just a thought, but maybe you turned the truss rod the wrong way. You said it has gotten worse since you adjusted the

Yeah, and good thought at that. Which is why I always refer to the FAQ before making any adjustments. I still second guessed myself and returned it back to the original position and a little past and that seemed to have no effect as well.

This was my first thought too. It's happened to me before, even though I know which way does what.. sometimes I get a case of dumb.

It takes at least a 1/4 turn to notice a real difference, and sometimes a half turn. I'd make sure you're turning the wheel counter-clockwise to raise the action.

If you had your strings off for any length of time, it will take the guitar some time after re-stringing, before it stabilizes.

If the saddles were fine before, I doubt they need to be reset

Which is why I always refer to the FAQ because I don't do it often enough to remember. Always been successful in the past though. I have never removed all the strings. WHen I cleaned the neck I removed three at most.

why don't you measure the amount of neck relief so you have some indication of whether moving the truss rod has had an effect.

To do this.

1. - Put guitar on your knee in normal playiong position. Put capo on 1st fret.
2 - Fret the E string arount the 16/17th fret (where the neck attaches to the body)
3 - Measure the gap between the top of the 7th or 8th fret (wherever the gap is biggest) and the E string with a set of feeler guages.

The gap should be about 0.01 Inches (10 /1000 inch). If it's a lot less than this then that's probably your problem. If it's around this figure or more then you probably have a different issue (if you are a very aggressive player you may need slightly more that 0.01 inches.)

I'm assuming you haven't changed string guages or anything

Wow! Thanks! That's some good info. I will try to check this later. Guess I need to buy a capo again. lol! No guage change here either.

Bring it to a Tech. A good set up might be all you need..

Thanks, sounds like the resounding advice.

Sounds like it's not a major issue, but clearly time is of the essence for you.

I'd call MM customer service today and ask them to help you diagnose the problem over the phone. Then you can decide if you need to send it in for some work. FYI, the turn around on work is often pretty quick - but they can walk you through everything on the phone.

Good luck!

Good, I hope so! Yes, it is!

Thanks, that's a good idea. I was hoping to get some response from Customer Service here to see if they had any idea of severity. There is a really good local guy who worked at PRS for years, but I didn't want to send him a problem with a guitar that he may not be familiar with. If Customer Service thinks that it will be OK, I'm all for it. It would definitely be easier than sending back out to CA! Hell, I'll be playing out there in May!

Thanks!

Thank you everyone for your replies, I really appreciate it! You guys rock!

 

[mbgreene]

Dr. Metal

How close is Stewartstown PA. to Wilmington DE? Forum member tommyindelaware is a guitar tech extraordinaire (as well as as player extraordinaire and all around good guy extraordinaire) and works at a shop near there (the website says the address is Bear, DE).

If its a reasonable distance it might be worth the trip for a great set up and diagnosis of anything else that might be an issue if you are looking to record and want everything perfect.

Among the guys tommy does work for are Steve Morse and Vinnie Moore. If they would trust their balls to Tommy - so would I.

 

[roburado]

jongitarz must be too busy to post. I'm sure he has a quick fix.

 

[Dr. Metal]

Dr. Metal

How close is Stewartstown PA. to Wilmington DE? Forum member tommyindelaware is a guitar tech extraordinaire (as well as as player extraordinaire and all around good guy extraordinaire) and works at a shop near there (the website says the address is Bear, DE).

If its a reasonable distance it might be worth the trip for a great set up and diagnosis of anything else that might be an issue if you are looking to record and want everything perfect.

Among the guys tommy does work for are Steve Morse and Vinnie Moore. If they would trust their balls to Tommy - so would I.

Hey,

About an hour or so. Roughly the same distance to Annapolis, MD where this other tech is located although work with people who live near him and routinely courier guitars back and forth for my guitar playing co-workers. The fact that he's on here and has experience with EB does give him points though.

Wow! That's quite the endorsement for him right there! Two players way at the top of my list!

Thanks for the info!

 

[Dr. Metal]

jongitarz must be too busy to post. I'm sure he has a quick fix.

Yeah, he must be. I was really hoping for him to poke his head in here too!

 

[beej]

Yeah- let me +1 million for Mike's recommendation.

Your guitar is in GOOD hands with Tommy!!!

 

[tommyindelaware]

howdy y'all....& thanks for the complments.

wow..main guitar since 2002......
i'm guessing plain ole fretware .
but i'd need to put it on my table to make a proper eval.
i hate to type.
302-750-9225
i would be happy to help if i can.....now that i can see again !!!!!!!
tommy

 

[jongitarz]

It could be fretwear, but it also could just be a truss rod tweak because of weather changes etc. The fretwear is easy to see, so if it's that, it should be pretty evident if that is the case.

It could be that you just need more relief in the neck. Usually, if you have some buzzing in the lower neck, that is the culprit. Try turning the wheel about the distance of one hole in the wheel to another, tune up if needed, play it and see if the buzzing goes away, if even a little bit. If the buzzing goes away, you can lower the saddles a bit because adding relief will put the strings a bit higher.

Keep us posted!

 

[Dr. Metal]

It could be fretwear, but it also could just be a truss rod tweak because of weather changes etc. The fretwear is easy to see, so if it's that, it should be pretty evident if that is the case.

It could be that you just need more relief in the neck. Usually, if you have some buzzing in the lower neck, that is the culprit. Try turning the wheel about the distance of one hole in the wheel to another, tune up if needed, play it and see if the buzzing goes away, if even a little bit. If the buzzing goes away, you can lower the saddles a bit because adding relief will put the strings a bit higher.

Keep us posted!

Hey Jon,

Thanks for replying! Well, I do have some fretwear, but I don't know that it is bad enough to cause the problem. Plus, it seemed to happen overnight which is why I assumed the truss rod too. What should I be looking for to see if its fretwear?

That's the thing, when I did adjust the wheel, it barely had to be retuned and the buzzing did not go away. I didn't want to mess around too much with the bridge and saddle eight because I didn't want to totally send it out of whack. I did PM Tommy and I'm going to call to see if we work out a time to get him my guitar real soon. In the meantime, I do appeciate any advice and help you can offer. This guitar absolutely sings through my Mesa Boogie and I don't want to record with anything else! In fact, I don't even like to play anything else on stage now!

Thanks again!

 

[jongitarz]

Try adusting the saddles! What have you got to lose? You were thinking about taking it in anyway. It's just wood and wires. Try the truss rod again. You want to turn it up toward the sky when you are holding the guitar as if you were playing.

If you do need to take it to a tech, see if you can watch what he does. Ask a lot of questions. Learn to do it for yourself. Who knows better than you how you want your guitar to feel?

I should have said in my fisrt post that if the buzzing goes away somewhat when you first adjust the wheel, go a little more in the same direction and see if it goes away completely.

Then you should be able to lower thee saddles.

Get to work.

 

[Dr. Metal]

Try adusting the saddles! What have you got to lose? You were thinking about taking it in anyway. It's just wood and wires. Try the truss rod again. You want to turn it up toward the sky when you are holding the guitar as if you were playing.

If you do need to take it to a tech, see if you can watch what he does. Ask a lot of questions. Learn to do it for yourself. Who knows better than you how you want your guitar to feel?

I should have said in my fisrt post that if the buzzing goes away somewhat when you first adjust the wheel, go a little more in the same direction and see if it goes away completely.

Then you should be able to lower thee saddles.

Get to work.

Thanks!

Cool. I guess adjusting the saddles won't be too big a deal as far as throwing the setup out too far. I just hope I don't cause any string breakages to come back.

OK, that is the direction I've been turning (counter-clockwise when looking at it from the body end towards the neck). I normally got more response out of it in the past. I had been doing fine making little tweaks here and there, adjusting intonation and all. But when I made two turns (which I think is really roughly one turn) and it had no effect and felt loose, I got nervous. I still took it another turn and it didn't seem to do anything either. Can I loosen it too much? I just don't want to ruin anything past repair (or ridiculous expense). I did turn it back, so it is only two turns up right now.

That would be awesome! I wasn't sure if they all did the work in front of you. Then again, with the distance I imagine that he would work on it that day. I guess I'll find out when I call him unless I fix it tonight.

OK, cool.